5 Family-friendly recipes to use leftover Easter chocolate

There seems to be two distinct types of families in Australia – those that have the yearly dilemma of what to do to use up the leftover Easter chocolate and those who don’t have any leftover at all (this is not the blog for you). For those wondering what to do with all that chocolate, here are five recipes which use up Easter chocolate, are family-friendly, and are so quick and easy that the kids could make them – just remember to also supervise.

Ice-cream Bunnies/Eggs
Ingredients:

• 1 litre of ice-cream of choice
• 4 chocolate bunnies or eggs
• 100g chocolate, melted

Method:
Unwrap the chocolate bunnies or eggs. Place the bottom into boiling water for 30 seconds. Dry and press gently to create a hole. Place the ice-cream in a food processor or stand mixer and process until softened. Add the ice-cream to a piping bag (a clip-seal bag with the end cut off works too) and pipe into the hole in the bunnies/eggs. Place in the freezer upside down in a glass or mug for 2 hours. Patch the hole using melted chocolate and return to the freezer to set.

Hot Cross Bun Ice-cream Sandwiches
Ingredients:

• Hot cross buns
• Ice-cream of choice
• Easter eggs, broken and melted

Method:
Split hot cross buns in half. Add a scoop of ice-cream to the bottom half of the bun, drizzle melted chocolate over the ice-cream, add the top half of the bun.
 

Easter Egg Hot Chocolate
Ingredients:

• 2 cups (500ml) milk
• 2 cups (500ml) pure, thin cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split and the seed scrapped (vanilla extract/paste is a good substitute)
• 200g dark chocolate Easter eggs, broken
• ½ tsp salt
• Vanilla ice-cream, small and hollow Easter eggs and cocoa powder to decorate

Method:
Combine the milk, cream and vanilla seeds in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally for 5 mins or until hot. Add the chocolate and salt, continuing to stir for 2 mins or until melted and smooth.

Divide among mugs and decorate with ice-cream, eggs and/or cocoa powder.

Easter Egg Sundae
Ingredients:

• Hollow Easter eggs
• Brownies
• Hot fudge sauce
• Marshmallows
• Ice-cream of choice

Method:
Crack open the hollow Easter eggs and fill with brownie, hot fudge sauce, marshmallows and ice-cream – that is it!

Easter Egg Chip Cookies
Ingredients:

• 125g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (250g) brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 ½ cups (225g) plain flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 100g dark chocolate Easter eggs, broken
• 100g white chocolate Easter eggs, broken

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the butter and brown sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beaters until thick and pale. Add the vanilla extract and egg, then continue to beat until just combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt and gently fold to combine. Stir through the chunks of dark and white chocolate.

Place tablespoonfuls of mixture on the tray, spaced 4-5cm apart. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Cool for 5 minutes on the tray, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container for 2-3 days.